Chicken Ramen
by S. Phantom
Summary: A series of short stories to show Kakashi and Iruka's growing relationship... Don't need to read Escort duty to undestand, but recommended. ShonenAi, KakaIru pairing.
1. Chicken Ramen

I came up with this after a long, two thousand three hundred mile trip with two close friends and just need something to let it out. That, and after getting a pic of me drawn with Kakashi and Iruka at Ohayocon, I can't beat down my inner Naruto fangirl.

And yes, I know there are probably dozens of stories like this written, but honestly, I haven't read any of them and I want to develop Kakashi and Iruka's relationship. You don't need to read Escort Duty to understand this, but it'll make me happy if you do. Please enjoy!

_**HKUI**_

Iruka stifled a yawn from behind the mask he wore, and then stifled a sneezing fit that threatened to overwhelm him. The conference that he was escorting the Hokage to was taking longer than was expected and Iruka just wanted to get home and get to sleep, maybe read a chapter of the new sci-fi book he got just before he left.

A few hours later, the conference was released and the Hokage asked if they could push to get home before night fall instead of having to camp over night somewhere in the wilderness and Iruka felt like he could kiss the woman for suggesting it. He managed to restrain himself and gave a tired but heartfelt "yes" from behind the mask. When Shizune also agreed, they began their way back, the Hokage taking point while they flanked her.

The trip went by in a large blur for Iruka. Luckily, Konoha was warm enough that it didn't snow, but it was still cold enough at the end of the year to make some of the ninjas that didn't take outside missions shiver. Despite how much he complained about the children in his classes, Iruka actually missed teaching. Not only was his classroom warm and the class predictable (going for practice weapons when they had the littlest chance), being around so many children brought his immune system up.

The Chuunin tripped on a roof shingle but managed to catch himself before falling over the edge, continuing to follow the Hokage and missing the studying gazes of the two women. He blinked in surprise when Shizune actually stopped him with a strong grip on his arm as the Hokage continued on toward her office… supposedly…

"Tsunade-sama won't need your report for a while. Why don't you head home and rest?"

"All right. Thank you, Shizune-sama." Iruka turned off of his original course and headed back to his apartment, feeling the mission's stress settling on his shoulders with an unfamiliar weight. He fumbled slightly with his keys to open his door, smiling slightly behind the mask he still had on.

_HKUI_

"_Why do you lock your door?" Kakashi asked after walking him back to Iruka's apartment after the first fateful mission. "I mean, this _is_ a village full of ninja."_

"_Children have a habit of dropping in for a visit unannounced."_

"_Ahh…"_

_Iruka stole a quick, cloth covered kiss before smiling sweetly at Kakashi and gently closing the door on the glazed eyed ninja._

_HKUI_

Iruka pulled down mask as he fell into a coughing fit, hunched over in the doorway to his apartment for a few minutes. When he was able to stand straight again, he stumbled into the living room, barely remembering to take off his sandals, and fell onto the couch. He laid there for a short while before the responsible part of his mind kicked him, reminding him that he still had a report to write up, despite what Shizune had told him.

"Might as well get it done and turned in now rather than later," he muttered to himself, forcing his body to move.

**HKUI**

Kakashi walked in to the mission room, absentmindedly handing his mission report that he wrote on his way back to the ninja behind the desk while having his nose buried in his favorite, bright orange book. He had just turned away when the ninja called out.

"Hatake-san! Umino-san was here earlier. He said to tell you he got back from his mission if you got in before he started his shift."

"Thanks," Kakashi said as he left, still reading his book.

He made his way back to his small apartment slowly, forcing muscles to relax as he walked the streets and alleys. He made it to his apartment without incident and let himself in. He blinked in surprise as something crunched under his foot and frowned down at the small paper.

_Kakashi-san,_

_I've left on a mission with the Hokage. If you get back after I do, you're welcome to come over. I'll even make dinner._

The note was signed with the katakana character of "I" and an unintelligible scribbled, probably the last two katakana characters of Iruka's name. Kakashi placed the note on a small table by his bed and stretched his arms, letting a few joints pop. Hopefully Iruka makes good dinners.

**HKUI**

Kakashi knocked, waited a few minutes, and knocked again. When no one answered, he stretched out his senses, feeling for any familiar chakra and he could detect Iruka's distinctive signature in the back of the apartment, flaring very faintly.

Kakashi tried the door knob, faintly surprised when it opened easily. "Iruka…" Kakashi slipped off his sandals and padding softly through the living area, making sure to make enough noise to alert the Chuunin. The bedroom door creaked open at his touch and the lump under the covers moved slightly, coughing weakly before falling still.

The Jounin walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers gently, looking down at the sleeping Chuunin. Strands of hair framed Iruka's face from where it fell from the ponytail and he was snoring slightly. After spending a few weeks in the same room with him, Kakashi knew that Iruka didn't snore.

"'Ruka-kun…" Kakashi murmured softly, shaking his shoulder.

One dark eye opened and glared up at him before the expression softened. "'Kashi?" Iruka tried to push himself up but lapsed into a coughing fit, pulling the thick comforter up around his head to muffle it.

"Ninjas normally don't get sick."

"I normally am in a warm classroom with two dozen small kids. I haven't seen my classroom for three months." After a moment of silence, he pushed himself up without coughing. "I promised you dinner, didn't I?"

"Yes you did, but that could wait for a while. Just go back to sleep. I'll be back in a short while."

"Okay." Iruka curled up and pulled the blanket over his head again, and moment later Kakashi could hear muffled snores.

_Time to get to work,_ Kakashi thought, heading to the front door.

**HKUI**

Iruka didn't remember much after turning in his report to the Chuunin behind the mission desk, except for Kakashi randomly showing up in a dream and the taste of chicken noodle soup. When he did regain enough realization of the outside world, he felt someone pressed up against his back. Scarred fingertips rubbed his arm soothingly before stilling again and Iruka heard Kakashi mutter something before falling quiet again.

Twisting around in strong arms, Iruka studied the Jounin in the darkness of the room. Kakashi still wore his mask, even asleep and with someone who already saw his face. Iruka frowned slightly and leaned closer to Kakashi, smelling a faint scent of chicken flavoring on Kakashi.

"I heard chicken noodle soup was good for colds," Kakashi said softly.

"I didn't know that you could find chicken noodle soup in this village."

"Can't. I had to use chicken ramen instead."

That sent Iruka off laughing, which triggered a coughing fit. Kakashi rubbed his back until he calmed down enough to breath and Iruka grinned at him, eyes bright. "You got me chicken ramen?"

"Ahh… I actually made it. The ramen stand is closed because the owner left on vacation for the New Years."

Iruka suddenly pulled Kakashi tight against him, hugging him with what remained of his strength. He kissed Kakashi on the edge of the mask on the bridge of his nose. "Thank you, Kakashi-san. No one's ever gone through that much trouble for me."

"It's nothing. You want me to help you to the bathroom before I reheat some ramen?"

Iruka frowned at him before looking over his shoulder at an alarm clock. "How long have I been out?"

"About a day or so." When Iruka suddenly began to struggle to untangle his legs from the sheets, Kakashi held him until he calmed down. "Tsunade-sama sent Sakura-kun over to check on you. She says it's just the flu and a few days rest would help more than anything else."

"Aren't you going to get sick?"

"Sakura-kun gave me a shot so I won't. Come on, let's get you situated in the other room."

Fifteen minutes and a bathroom stop later, Iruka was on the couch in his living room, a cup of hot chicken broth and ramen noodles in hand and bundled up in his blanket. Kakashi gave him one of his masked smiles. "Is there anything else you need?"

Iruka blushed slightly and looked away. "Would you stay for a while longer? It gets lonely around here quickly."

"Sure." Kakashi lifted Iruka feet and sat down in their spot, placing the feet on his lap after pulling out his orange book. Iruka made a face at the cover but made no comment as he grabbed his own book from the coffee table near him, settling in to the comfortable silence around him.

**HKUI**

Kakashi closed the door silently behind and slipped off his sandals. Despite the late hour, he could hear Iruka humming to himself in the kitchen. He stepped into the warm light and smile at the Chuunin's back, watching him stir a pot that held Iruka's "secret" miso soup. A thing of steamed rice and plates holding broiled fish were already on the table, waiting to be eaten.

The Jounin walked up behind Iruka and placed his arms on the younger man's hips, slightly disappointed when he didn't jump. Iruka leaned back in his arms, his humming softening for a moment before stopping.

"I could feel you at the bottom of the stairs," Iruka said in way of explanation. "How was your mission?"

"Boring, as usual. I see you survived without anyone around."

Iruka shrugged. "I went by the hospital and got a last check up. I'm now allowed to work in the mission room again and go on missions."

"They wouldn't allow you before?"

"Liability on a mission and could have spread the flu to the rest of the mission room."

"Ahh…" There were a few moments of silence before Kakashi pulled down his mask and turn Iruka enough to capture his lips and a gentle kiss. When they parted, Kakashi managed not to smirk at the slightly glazed look Iruka had. After setting the Chuunin down at the table, Kakashi pulled out two bowls to put the soup in and finished serving the rest of the late night supper.

Kakashi was glad that they got together on their first mission. Besides, Iruka made good dinners.

_**HKUI**_

And here is something I wanted to write that I hope was cute and sweet, if anything. This isn't citrusy enough to make it to AFFNet, but it's going there anyway... I hope everyone likes!


	2. On Ice

At this time, where I live, if it isn't owned by the government or city, it's covered in an inch of ice. I got this idea when I did a 180 into a ditch in my Jeep. I hope someone likes it…

_**HKUI**_

Iruka sat on a snow covered branch for a few minutes, trying to catch his breath. He might be a ninja, but he only recently got over the flu and running for a long time caught him in the chest. Combined with the crisp, cold air of the country that the delivery and retrieval mission was in hit him harder than he thought, despite the warm, black scarf wrapped around his face and mouth.

So he took the time to look around and admire the scene, from the beautiful snow capped mountains that the mission ran parallel with to the ice covered lake that Kakashi was slowly spinning to a halt on, spread-eagle. Iruka had no clue what Kakashi was doing when he reached the ice ahead of him, but the Copy-nin's feet flew out from under him and when Kakashi tried to catch himself with his hand, that just sent him spinning on his butt. So apparently Kakashi decided to just lay back and enjoy the clouds as he came to a halt.

When he did stop, Iruka jumped down from the branch and began to make his way over to the ninja, doing the awkward "I'm on an effing slick surface" walk that most people tend to use on ice. It was the end of the mission and Iruka saw no reason why to waste chakra on something like that.

He stopped by Kakashi's side and leaned over him slightly so that he blocked the view from the Jounin. "Comfy?"

Kakashi smiled up at him. Iruka was getting good at reading Kakashi's moods just from the lines at the corner of his eyes that would appear sometimes. "Very much so," was Kakashi's reply. "My back feels a bit chilled at the moment, though."

"Anything broken?"

"My right ankle feels a bit tender."

Iruka sat down on the ice and placed Kakashi's right foot on his lap after carefully taking off the sandal covering it. After a few probing squeezes and subtle winces from Kakashi, he pulled out a roll of bandages and began to wrap them over the ones that already partially cover his foot.

"We should do this more often," Kakashi said, putting his hands behind his head.

Iruka merely made an agreeing noise as he inspected the wrapped foot and then added his own chakra to keep the swelling down and heal the ankle a bit. Every teacher at the academy was given some medical training for the kids that tended to get hurt during field trips. One never knew when that training would be helpful.

Just as Iruka slipped the sandal back on, Kakashi leaned up and snatched a quick, mask free kiss from the Chuunin.

"Thanks."

Iruka blushed as he nodded and slowly got to his feet, almost slipping on the ice himself. He began his way back to the snowy bank and after a few minutes, only half formed cuss words warned him as Kakashi slid right into him, grabbing onto one of Iruka's arms. The grab threw Iruka off balance and he fell on the Jounin, spinning on the ice for a few moments before the world righted itself once again.

"Thanks for the cushion."

"No problem."

The Chuunin slowly got to his feet again and quickly made his way back to normal ground, trying to get there before the Kakashi bowling ball knocked him over again. Despite how fun it was to be on top of Kakashi…

Iruka stopped that train of thought, jumping into the trees and hoping that Kakashi didn't notice him blush as he followed, though Iruka doubted it. The snow around them was probably melting just from the heat of it…

_**HKUI**_

And I have decided that Chicken Ramen would be a series of short stories, loosely connected and in chronological order. Please review!


	3. Out Of

I did have my more… ah… _intense_ chapter planned for this installment, but while it simmers on the back burner waiting for my muses' blushes to go down and add the lemon, this short little thing will be put up. I hope it's okay.

_**HKUI**_

Iruka hummed happily to himself as he walked home. The short, C-rank mission went off without a hitch and he was able to hit by a grocery store and a few vegetable stands before he got home, stocking up on supplies that he was running short on. His mind began to work through what he could make but it seemed fairly well set on one thing.

Ramen.

He hasn't had ramen for a week now and he craved it. Admittedly it was a bit sad on his part when Naruto wasn't with him, begging to be treated at Ichiraku just like the old days, but Iruka would quickly cheer up anyway, remembering the funny stories Naruto would tell him or just the Genin's antics.

His mind eventually switched back to the dinner he had in mind as he passed by the closed stand of Ichiraku. He knew that Ichiraku would be closing by the time he made it back from his mission, and he didn't want to trouble the owner by showing up late, so he planned accordingly.

_Use a packet or two of ramen, throw out the flavoring that comes with it… Miso ramen is always good and I did pick miso up at the store. Add some onions and seaweed… Hmm… I have some left over grilled chicken that I tend to add to a salad. That would go good with it. Some leeks and bamboo shoots too…_

Juggling the bags slightly, he managed to get his door open and slipped his sandals off before heading over to the kitchen and began to put things away. He left out the miso and the onions he got at the store and pulled out the rest of the planned ingredients before heading over to the cabinet that held his ramen stash.

"Ramen?"

The empty space of the cabinet stared back him, unaware of how much turmoil its owner was feeling. The cabinet doors were slowly shut before being flung open again with dark eyes staring at it in shock.

"Ramen, ramen, ramen…" Iruka muttered the magical word over and over again as if he could make it appear. After a few minutes, he wandered back to where the grocery bags were sitting, rifling through them in case he picked up ramen but forgot to put it away. When that produced nothing, he checked by the stove to see if he set some packets down there, but there was nothing there either.

After that came the fridge. Then the freezer. Then all of the other cabinets. Then the living room. Then the bathroom. Soon followed the linen closet, his bedroom closet, underneath the bed, in between the mattress, and the bookshelf.

By the time he was done with the sock drawer of his dresser, he was nearly in tears. He had such high hopes on eating ramen, but now it was too late to go by the store and by some packets. Sighing in defeat, he picked himself off of the floor, ignoring how his usually clean room sat in shambles and made his way to the front door, shrugging on his vest. There was one konbini near by that stayed open a bit late until midnight that sold some cup ramen.

_Two or three cups should hold me over,_ he thought, sadly pulling on his sandals and reaching for his keys as he opened the door.

When he looked up, Kakashi stood there with a slightly surprised look on his face, hand raised to knock on the door. Kakashi lowered his hand and raised the other one that held a bag of take-out. "Yo. I brought–"

"Ramen!"

Iruka grabbed the bag with one hand and Kakashi with the other, pulling the Jounin into the apartment easily. His sandals were barely off before he disappeared into the kitchen, minus Kakashi, and the older man could hear drawers being opened and shut.

"I came by earlier to see if you wanted to eat, but you weren't here," Kakashi said as he pulled off his sandals and set them to the side. "I picked up some ramen from Ichiraku before they closed and kept it warm until I saw that you were home."

When he got to the kitchen, ignoring how it seemed that a tornado hit Iruka's apartment, he noticed that one thing of ramen had been emptied into a nice bowl with chopsticks lying across the edge, steam rising gently from it. Iruka, on the other hand, was leaning against a counter with the take-out container in one hand and chopsticks in the other. The container was missing about half of the broth and a third of the noodles.

Kakashi chuckled as he picked up his bowl and began to eat it quickly out of habit, and he and Iruka finished off their dinners roughly around the same time. Before he could pull the mask back up, Iruka caught his hand and leaned close enough to catch his lips in a gentle, caring kiss. He then left the room and Kakashi could hear things starting to be put away.

After rinsing out the bowl, he made his way to the living room where Iruka was stacking scrolls and books into two piles, each one in front of a bookshelf. He began to put the reading materials away in there respected places and the worked in comfortable silence for a long while before Kakashi asked, "What happened?"

When he looked down, he saw that Chuunin was blushing and Iruka only said, "I was out of ramen?"

_**HKUI**_

**Konbini**: The term the Japanese use for a convenience store. I admit I haven't been to many here in America, but the Japanese ones are basically like gas station stores without the gas station part. They're fun to shop at and sadly enough, I do like the food I could get there…

I hope that's good for now. When I first started this set of stories, it was supposed to be only one story. Now its become more of a "Chicken Ramen for the Ninja's Soul" type thing, which is why the title of these things is still Chicken Ramen.

Remember reviews always help and there should be a lemon in the next chapter!


	4. Bandaged

_**HKUI**_

Iruka had excellent reflexes. Being a ninja made it that way. Those reflexes helped save his life or the lives of his students on numerous occasions. But right now, he was cursing those same reflexes for acting without his permission.

Kakashi had just walked through the front door and taken off his sandals when he heard a loud crash followed by a string of cussing. It wasn't Iruka's "Something screwed up against my wishes" cussing, but his "I'm injured but not mortally wounded!" cussing. The Jounin quickly got to the kitchen, took note of the pot, water, and cooked ramen noodles on the floor around Iruka and the stove, and had the Chuunin's hands under cool, running water before anything processed in his mind.

"So…" Kakashi started. "What happened?"

"Making ramen and the pot slipped out of my hands."

"What did you catch?"

There was a moment of silence. "The water, mostly." Iruka pulled his hands out from the water and showed them to Kakashi. There was a curved burn on his left palm, a shade redder than the rest of his hand. "Must have caught part of the pot too." He placed his hands back under the water and a faint look of relief crossed his face.

Kakashi knew that the burns weren't serious enough for permanent damage. The metal burn was probably the worse of it, but the ones Iruka got on his back on the mission a few months back were worse than that. The ones on his hands, though, probably hurt like hell.

The Jounin got a two small hand towels wet under the water, squeezed out most of the moisture, and then gently wrapped the burned hands with them, leading Iruka to the living room by the wrists. When Iruka was sitting down on the couch, Kakashi went in search for the first aid kit, finding it by the door.

Over the next two hours, Kakashi carefully treated Iruka's hands with some burn salve and covered the burns with bandages so that the medicine wouldn't rub off, making a mental note to replace the tube of salve in the kit and to get some more to leave in the apartment if Iruka didn't have any. Through out the entire treatment, Kakashi kept a steady, healing flow of chakra to Iruka's hands.

"How are they now?"

Iruka flexed his hands slightly. "Tender but otherwise a bit numb."

"They'll probably be hurting for the next few days." Kakashi looked up at Iruka and met his eyes. "I'm not saying not to accept missions, but choose them carefully. Something that wouldn't require you to use your hands so much." His mind fumbled for a moment on how to phrase his next words, but he settled for, "May I go inform the Hokage and the mission board about your hands?"

Iruka blinked at him. "Sure, if you want to."

"All right. I'll be back soon." Kakashi pulled down his mask as he leaned forward, kissing Iruka gently, and got up. After tossing the wet towels into the sink, he looked back to Iruka before leaving.

**HKUI**

When Kakashi got back, he had a few more things of burn salve, three bowls worth of ramen from Ichiraku, and a bit satisfied that he got his self appointed task of informing the correct people about Iruka's hands done. When he got back, he also discovered that Iruka had fallen asleep on the couch, his hands resting on his thighs, palms up.

Smiling softly to himself, Kakashi set the bags down and walked over to Iruka, brushing a few strands of hair away from the scarred face. Iruka's nose wrinkled slightly and he opened his dark eyes, staring up at Kakashi in glazed confusion and Kakashi didn't move for a few moments, waiting patiently for Iruka to put away the kunai held to his neck.

"Sorry," Iruka mumbled, lowering the weapon and rubbing his eyes with the back of one hand.

"How are your hands?" Kakashi asked, sitting back against a low coffee table.

The Chuunin held up his hands and flexed them, the movements slightly stiff from the bandages. "They move fine, but I can't feel anything besides pressure on them."

"Can you handle chopsticks?"

Iruka gave him a look. "They're numb, not immobile."

Kakashi just smiled. "Good. I brought ah…" He looked over to a clock on the wall. "I brought dinner. Ramen, since it was the easiest to pick up on the way back." He went over and picked up the bag with the ramen and grabbed two sets of chopsticks and two bottles of water as he went by the kitchen.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Kakashi spent half his time watching Iruka and making sure that the younger ninja could handle everything fine while Iruka just ate his ramen, the bandages making it slightly more difficult to work the chopsticks. He was learning how to use them all over again.

Iruka looked up when Kakashi snorted slightly, giving the man a questioning look. Kakashi leaned over and wiped the edge of Iruka's mouth with a thumb. "You missed some broth," he murmured softly, leaning in closer.

Iruka didn't know how close he was until their lips touched, a soft, gentle kiss distracting him. Kakashi took the bowl away from the unmoving bandaged hands and set them on the table before it could fall to the floor and make a mess, then decided that his hands could be put to better use.

Kakashi lowered himself to his knees before Iruka, bringing his hands up to cup the Chuunin's cheeks gently. This position actually made Kakashi shorter than Iruka, but he didn't mind. From his kneeled position, he was pressed closer to Iruka, feeling every little moan and breath hitch that got through the kiss. Iruka's hands tangled themselves in his flyaway silver hair and Kakashi broke the kiss when the younger man gave a mournful whimper.

"I can't feel you," he mumbled, bringing one bandaged hand to caress Kakashi's bare cheek lightly.

Kakashi turned his head slightly and kissed the bandaged fingers before standing and pulling Iruka up with him. "Don't worry about feeling with your hands. It's not going to matter in a short while anyway…"

**HKUI**

Iruka shifted slightly, a soft sigh escaping him when he felt the arm draped across his waist possessively. He frowned when he couldn't feel anything under his fingers but the distant ache from his hands in general reminded him that they were recently scalded by boiling water. Still, he let his fingers trail against the hand of his lover and smiled to himself. They have not been together since the mission with the princesses, and Iruka hasn't shared a bed since the end of the mission. As quick as he was able to get use to being alone again, he curled up next to Kakashi quite easily.

Even the soothing rhythm of Kakashi's heartbeat couldn't lull the Chuunin back to sleep so with very little difficulty, he crawled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, stretching and letting a few joints pop. Iruka turned on the water for the shower and let it heat up as he began to unravel the bandages around his hands, vaguely surprised that they were still snuggly tied.

_But then again,_ he thought, _Gai is probably able to get Kakashi to help him bandage his hands once in a while…_

The bandages eventually fell into the sink and Iruka tested them, stretching his fingers as wide as he could to see if they had their full range without being painful. The skin pulled and there was very little pain, but over all, as long as he didn't have to do rapid hands seals, it should be all right.

Iruka stepped into the shower and immediately winced when the hot water touched his overly sensitive hands. He knew how much it stung when a tiny burn was immersed into warm water, but having both hands sting that much was almost unbearable. Before he was able to do anything though, Kakashi pushed the shower curtain back and climbed into the tub, still looking sleepy but smiling all the same.

"Need help?" Kakashi asked as he leaned forward, sliding his hands around Iruka's waist. The hands continued past Iruka to grab a bottle of shampoo while managing to get both of them under the spray of water.

Iruka scowled at the teasing but decided not to say anything when Kakashi began to massage some shampoo into his hair. It just felt too good to say anything and spoil the moment. The soapy hands then worked their way to his neck, massaging the muscles.

"You know," Kakashi said, his mouth right next to Iruka's ear as his hands began to track even lower. "There are more fun things we can do in the shower."

"Kakashiii…" The name came out with a moan and Iruka could feel the smirk pressed against his shoulder.

Needless to say, Iruka didn't mind it as much as the temperature of the water slowly got colder.

**HKUI**

Iruka leaned back against Kakashi, who was working on sharpening various kunai and shuriken. The Chuunin was reading a book that he meant to get around to, refusing Kakashi's offer of the precious Icha Icha books that are always on him. When Kakashi asked why, Iruka merely responded, "Why do I want to read what we're doing anyway?"

About fifteen minutes later, Iruka finally left his bedroom with a smug Kakashi following, fixing his oversized shirt that Kakashi's hands always seemed to find a way under.

It took a few moments for Iruka to turn the pages with newly bandaged hands, but he didn't mind. He was warm and comfortable and nothing else seemed to matter.

_I should invite Kakashi over more often,_ Iruka thought, eyes staring blankly at the words on the page. _As long as I don't burn myself when he does, I think I can live with it…_

_**HKUI**_

And so, three months, fifty distractions, and a melon popsicle after starting it, it's done… I meant to post this before leaving state-side, but never got around to writing the lemon. And so, with ten weeks of classes left for me, I will hopefully get more chapters posted. And I'm sorry for my chapters being short. I write what my attention span can handle, which is apparently very little...

I've started writing an AU of Naruto and such and if people are interested, I'll post the first chapter. If I get some reviews, it will continue.

As always, the lemon can be found at AFFNet, same name, same story. Thanks for sticking with me!


	5. Children

**HKUI**

Kakashi walked through the doorway and neatly slipped off his sandals with one hand while automatically keeping the other hand steady, not wanting to spill the items in the bag as he moved around. There was a moment where he stared blankly at the room before him before he blinked and frowned.

There was a bag of diapers under a table and a half empty baby bottle sitting on top, but that explained nothing. He took a few steps closer to the couch where he could see a foot hanging over the edge and smiled softly to himself.

Iruka was asleep on the couch, half sprawled out in what looked like an uncomfortable position, his hair falling loosely around his face and his hitai-ate caught between his head and the arm of the couch, with a small child on his chest, also asleep. The child had to be two years old at the most, and Kakashi couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl.

The Jounin took two more steps towards Iruka and had to dodge a kunai that was thrown in his direction with deadly accuracy. He looked back down to see Iruka glaring at him blearily, one arm holding the child close in a protective embrace with another kunai in his other hand.

"Damnit, Hatake…"

Kakashi knew that he was in trouble when Iruka cussed _and_ used his last name, so he wisely stayed quiet, waiting for Iruka to continue. The Chuunin sat up slowly, careful not to jostle the child too much and wake it up. The hitai-ate fell to the floor with a _clunk!_ and Iruka jumped again, looking like he was about to murder it for making a noise.

Putting the kunai away, he rubbed one hand across his eyes, grimacing slightly. "One of my neighbors was called away on a mission and I was the only one available to watch her. She was up crying all night both because she was just left with me and at the middle of the night. She finally dozed off about…" He turned, searching for the clock hanging by his bookshelf. "About four hours ago."

Kakashi nodded. When Iruka didn't get enough sleep, he did tend to be waspish around most people. Kakashi thought himself lucky that he could get him out of the mood most of the time. He held up the bag that was still in one hand, announcing, "I brought lunch before your mission board shift. Sushi and miso."

"Shit… I forgot about the mission board!"

The older man blinked. To cuss twice in less than ten minutes, it had to be bad.

"I can watch her."

Iruka stared back at him before asking, "What?"

"I can watch her. It shouldn't be harder than watching of a bunch of Genin, and she won't have anything pointy, so less dangerous too. You can go work your lack of sleep off at the mission board by terrorizing hapless ninja and probably catch a few naps too."

"I don't know…" Iruka had moved to set the child on the floor on a blanket and covered her up, letting her sleep some more, before following Kakashi to the kitchen to help set out the food.

Over lunch, Iruka lectured Kakashi relentlessly on what to do and how to do it, questioning him many times over to make sure that the Copy Ninja had everything down. Kakashi answered all of the questions correctly and by the time Iruka was fixing back his hair and grabbing his hitai-ate, Iruka looked a bit less worried, but not completely reassured.

Just as he was out of the door, Kakashi grabbed him by the collar of his vest and asked, "You never told me her name."

"Ameko."

Kakashi pulled down his mask to give him a quick kiss and said, "Go on. Have fun at work."

In a slight daze, Iruka nodded and began his way to work across the roof tops of Konoha.

**HKUI**

Iruka yawned as he walked back to his apartment, stretching to pop a few joints in his back and sighing in relief when it did. Work had run over more than usual and while he was still tired from his lack of sleep, he was able to work his frustration off on a few people that weren't doing what they were supposed to. And while he was eager to get home and check on Kakashi and Ameko, he was also half dreading at what he would find.

The moment of truth came when he opened the door and he breathed a silent sigh of relief. There was some paper thrown here and there, nothing too hard to pick up, and a few crayons, but nothing seemed damaged. He walked over to the couch and found Kakashi pretty much in the same position that he was in earlier, only instead of a foot dangling over the edge, his leg up to the knee was hanging in the air while his other foot was off the front of the couch. Ameko apparently was playing with the hitai-ate before shortly going to sleep because one end of it was in her tiny fist and it didn't look like she was going to let go of it any time soon. One of Kakashi's arms held her comfortably against his chest and Iruka could feel himself falling for the man all over again.

Moving quietly, Iruka walked over to where Kakashi's head rested and brushed back a few strands of silver hair, watching the man sleep for a few moments before smiling at the man's peaceful expression.

**HKUI**

_Seven year old Kakashi stared at the small child that just wandered into the clearing where he was practicing, breathing a silent sigh of relief when none of the kunai he had thrown hit the child. The child, oblivious to the danger it was in, wandered over to Kakashi and lifted his arms to the older boy._

"_Play?"_

_Kakashi frowned. "Who are you?"_

"_Ruka," the child said, his arms still lifted. "Play?"_

_He had told his team leader that he would be practicing, and he was a Chuunin, past the age to play. But it did sound tempting…_

"_Only for a while," Kakashi said as he took the child's hands in his own, glancing around as if looking out for someone who was going to catch him slacking off. Besides, know one would know unless he told them…_

_A few hours later, Yondaime found Kakashi under a tree, asleep, with a young, brown haired child sleeping beside him. He was glad that his hard working student was able to take time out of practice, even if only for a little bit. _

_**HKUI**_

Hopefully a cute, if short, chapter for everyone. I kinda wanted to show a small bit of Kakashi or Iruka's past. And since the flashback dream thingy is set before Kakashi's father… left… I figured Kakashi wouldn't be so strict and by the book. And Iruka's supposed to be three in the flash back… Hehehe….

And no, I'm not sure when Kakashi started learning under Yondaime-sensei, so that was left up to my guessing. All I know is that he reaches Chuunin status at the age of six.

I write them as they come to me!


	6. Sorry for Intruding

_**HKUI**_

The first person that witnessed it was a plain, ordinary Chuunin who worked on the mission board part time. There wasn't anything special about her. Average height, average weight, average looks, and a fairly good candidate for undercover missions by this. But the moment she opened the door to Iruka's apartment to deliver a few scrolls that the Hokage wanted him to check, she squeaked in surprise, staring at the scene that greeted her. She stammered out an apology, refusing to meet the scarred Chuunin's gaze, left the scrolls on the table near the door, and promptly fled the area.

The next victim was Iruka's neighbor who dropped by to see if the Chuunin needed anything. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she managed to ask Iruka and with a negative reply, she went on her way.

The third person who was Kotetsu who brought an extra scroll that the first person forgot. His only reaction was a raised eyebrow and a muttered, "I didn't know you two had it in you…" before the door closed behind him, the _thunk_ of a shuriken hitting the door echoing down the stairway.

The fourth person was Kurenai, who was told that she could find Kakashi at Iruka's apartment by Kotetsu. When she appeared on the scene, she let out a long whistle and said, "Damn. If I knew you two were doing this, I would have came by sooner!"

A kunai and two shuriken chased her out of the apartment, embedding on the door where numerous marks like it decorated the wood. Kakashi grumbled under his breath about nosy people and got up to grab his weapons before sitting back down by Iruka. He then held up a scrap of cloth to Iruka who raised an eyebrow.

"How about this one?"

Iruka sighed took a hold of the black cloth, eying it critically. "No, Kakashi."

"But it's my favorite shirt!"

"Was your favorite shirt. If you wear stuff like this on missions, you have to expect that it'll get damaged. This one looks like you used a fire jutsu in an enclosed space."

Kakashi's embarrassed laugh answered the question and Iruka tossed it to the pile that Kakashi deemed as "Scraps that might be reused if we're desperate," before returning to his search for the small container of sewing needles.

He didn't even bother looking up when the door opened again, only to shut without a word. Kakashi answered the unspoken question. "That was Asuma. Maybe we should put a sign on the door. 'Warning! Men sewing inside!'"

"That would only invite them in. I don't want to work on more clothes beyond what we have now."

Kakashi shrugged and rummaged around for a piece of clothing that wasn't too damaged. When he found a pair of pants with only a small cut or two on the legs, he began sewing up the gash. While his abilities might not be as good as Iruka's, it was enough for him to repair small damages.

"You'd think that this would be expected. I know most of them repair their own clothes."

"You'd think," Kakashi mutter before sticking himself in the finger for the fifth time that night. There were some things that he could never get a hang of…

_**HKUI**_

Okay, I know that this idea was probably overdone, but it still makes me giggle. Honestly, I haven't seen any on the net, so I dunno.

I write them as they come to me!


	7. Pretty Good Day

**WARNING:** Double update! I put up a different chapter right before I up loaded this one!

_**HKUI**_

Iruka's day, in general, sucked. First, the Chuunin had woken up to wet blankets, explained by the open window that rain was coming through. It was another one of those sudden spring showers that caught people by surprise. Iruka would leave the window open at night so that a breeze would come in and cool his apartment a bit, but now he would have to remember to keep the part that was over his bed shut.

And so, shivering slightly, he made his way to the shower in hopes of warming up only to discover that the hot water heater had finally broken down. Grumbling about faulty building maintenance, he ran through a quick, cold shower before stepping out, shivering even worse than he had started out with.

After a bit of coffee with hot chocolate powder mixed in and a piece of buttered toast, he made his way through the rain to the mission board to start his shift, grimacing as every step he took squelched with water. Of course, the moment he came within fifteen feet of the door, the rain decided to stop and a bright sun peeked out from behind gray clouds. Iruka refused to give into the urge to flip off the sky, but decided that muttering curses under his breath was completely acceptable.

With his sandals still squelching with rain water, he walked down the hall and sat down at his spot behind the desk. The girl who worked night shift stood and gathered her stuff to leave, but Iruka stopped her with the question of, "Is Hatake-san back yet?"

She paused for a moment and said, "I don't think so. I can go check if you want me to?"

Iruka waved off the offer. "Enjoy your day."

The girl left and Iruka spent the rest of the morning by handing out the various missions that were required of the ninja, put up with the complaints of the Genin who believed that they could do a harder mission and putting up with the complaints of the Jounin who wanted to know why they were assigned such easy missions. Iruka was thankful that Naruto wasn't currently there since he was about as bad as both Jounin and Genin combined. The only group that didn't complain about what they got were the Chuunin, but Iruka wasn't about to look at that gift too closely.

By the time his shift ended at two in the afternoon, the air was heavy with humidity and Iruka's clothes clung to him in the most uncomfortable way possible. The Chuunin accepted a short, D-Rank mission to go weed an elderly's garden who lived near the edge of the Konoha village and went to work with a vengeance.

By the time he was done weeding, he had tossed his shirt and vest to the side so that it didn't cling to him as he worked, his hitai-ate was placed on the shirt since the cloth only seemed to make him hotter, the thighs of his pants were covered with dirt along with his hands and a place or two of his cheeks, and he had a feeling that his shoulders were sunburned and would start peeling in a day or two.

He was thankful that the old lady kept forcing glasses of water on him through out the time, though, and she sent him home with a bag of vegetables fresh from the garden that she picked while he worked.

While he would have preferred to have a hot bath to relax his muscles, the cool shower felt wonderful on his overheated skin and so he decided not to mentally complain about that too much. After eating a dinner of cup ramen, he fell onto his bed on his stomach, dressed in a pair of pajama pants and decided that he was too comfortable to move.

Iruka wasn't sure what woke him, but all he could see was darkness at the moment. Gentle hands touched his shoulders and he couldn't hold back the wince it produced and Iruka could barely hear Kakashi's chuckle. The Jounin ran his fingers over Iruka back lightly, letting chakra flow into the skin much like when Iruka's back was healing from being badly burned on their first mission, and the Chuunin sighed softly.

The brunet rolled onto his side so that he could look up at Kakashi. "Do you know what time it is?" he asked sleepily.

"About three-thirty in the morning," he answered before quickly moving to the hall. Iruka was almost asleep when a soft glow floated towards him and it took him a few minutes to realize that it was a candle stuck into a cupcake. Kakashi's unmasked face looked a bit sheepish. "This was the only one that didn't burn in the oven."

Iruka blinked, still a bit lost, as Kakashi sat down on the bed beside him and leaned over to kiss him gently. Kakashi leaned back and smiled. "Happy birthday, Iruka."

The Chuunin looked over at his clock in surprised. Even though it was three in the morning, it was technically his birthday. He looked back up to the Jounin with a smile. "Thank you, Kakashi." Iruka blew out the candle before leaning up and kissing the man, deciding that the day was, overall, a pretty good day.

_**HKUI**_

I know I'm early. Iruka-sensei's birthday is May twenty-sixth. But I am unable to post a chapter on that day due to a field trip, so it gets posted early!

And just to warn you, I'm still planning on posting a Naruto AU, with the main pairing being NaruSasuNaru, since I can go either way on that one, with some KakaIru on the sides. Be on the look out for it?


	8. Love You

Iruka giggled. Kakashi blinked, backed up a few steps, and ducked into the bar, looking around. He knew he heard his lover's laugh, even though that type of laugh he never actually heard before.

"Kakishi!"

The silver haired ninja blinked and ambled over to where the Chuunin sat at the bar with a few friends, glasses of what was probably different drinks surrounding him, along with a few sake bottles.

"How much have you had, Iruka?"

The brunet looked to his fingers, counted, and then looked to one of his friends. "How…"

"A good few. Tsunade-sama gave him a few days off and we decided he needed a good drunk night since he never participates in one anyway!"

"Ah." Kakashi stood still as the Chuunin carefully stood up, stumbled with the grace of Rock Lee after a few sips of sake, and draped his arms over Kakashi's shoulders. He didn't know what to expect from Iruka, and so he was fairly surprised when Iruka leaned closer and pressed a kiss firmly to Kakashi's cloth covered lips. The Jounin could practically smell the alcohol.

Iruka would blush and stutter whenever Kakashi made some little flirting gesture and now he was kissing the older man in a public bar filled with his friends. The younger man pulled back enough for Kakashi to catch to pout, and he barely caught the tanned fingers that reached for his mask.

"Not here."

"But I wanna!"

Kakashi leaned in close so that he could whisper to Iruka and no one would overhear. "You're going to be embarrassed over this little bit, love, and I don't show my face to just anyone."

"Not even the Hokage?" Iruka asked in a child-like voice.

"Not even the Hokage."

Kakashi knew that he would do anything to be able to see Iruka's face light up like that again and a part of his mind began to work on that problem while the rest of him slowly disentangled the Chuunin and steered him out of the bar. Iruka stumbled slightly after him only to steady himself after a moment, and began to walk perfectly normal. The only thing that indicated Iruka's drunkenness was the slight flush on his cheeks, the way he looked at everything with wide eyes, and the humming. Kakashi didn't know the song, but it was pretty either way.

The Jounin smiled to himself as one of Iruka's hands held his and everything felt right in the world. He felt like a normal man with his boyfriend, not one of the deadliest ninjas steering his drunken lover to the closest place to sleep, which happened to be his apartment.

Iruka carefully took the steps one at a time, making sure he didn't miss one, and stopped at Kakashi's door, leaning against it and waiting for the older man. Kakashi caught the man when the door swung open and once again, Iruka was leaning heavily on him. By the time the door swung shut, Kakashi's mask was hanging around his neck and Iruka was kissing him soundly.

Kakashi gently pushed Iruka up against the wall and let his hands roam under Iruka's shirt, tracing each scar the he could feel, especially the one in the middle of Iruka's back. After a few moments, Iruka pulled away only to lean his head against Kakashi's shoulder.

"'m sleepy."

"You can go to sleep if you want," Kakashi murmured, his touches now soothing instead of arousing. He turned Iruka towards the bed and pushed him, watching the man stumble slightly before turning to his tiny private kitchen and getting a glass of water. He turned back around and smiled at the sight of Iruka sitting on the edge of the bed, missing his shirt, and looking adorably muzzy.

"Drink, Iruka."

Obediently, the man drank what was handed to him and handed the glass back. Kakashi placed the glass on the bedside table by his clock and helped strip the man down to his underwear. After Iruka slipped between the covers, Kakashi got undressed and slid in behind him, draping one arm across Iruka's waist.

The brunet turned and curled up next to Kakashi, murmuring a soft, "I love you so much."

"How many times have you been drunk?" Kakashi asked softly.

"Counting this time… Once."

"You might not love me so much in the morning, then."

"Naw… Come hell or hangover, I'll love you." Iruka yawned and pressed a kiss to Kakashi's collarbone. "Night."

"Goodnight, Iruka."

**HKUI**

"Iruka…"

Iruka curled up on the bed and pulled a pillow over his head. "My head hurts, 'Kashi."

"I've got some water and pain killers if you want."

Iruka sat up slowly, his eyes still closed, and let Kakashi guide his actions before carefully lying back down. Gentle hands stroked his hair away from his face and traced his eyes and lips. One brown eye blinked up at Kakashi and he smiled softly. "Love you."

There was a few moments pause, then, "How's the hangover?"

"Fuck off," was the muttered reply, along with a pillow in the face.

Kakashi chuckled and left Iruka on the bed to wait for the pain killers to kick in. In a short while, Iruka might be up to moving around and maybe food after that. But until then, Kakashi had a book that would keep him occupied.

_**HKUI**_

I figured that Iruka would be a happy drunk. No, no lemon, gomen. Just sappiness. I'm a sucker for sappiness. And Kakashi's name was deliberately misspelled at the beginning. Enjoy!


End file.
